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Indoor Bonsai Need to Go Outside

November 27th, 2009

Sitting on the magazine table, under the glare of the institutional lighting in my dentist’s office, a Juniper bonsai was proudly displayed. I mentioned that it wasn’t getting much light to the receptionist and she assured me not to worry because it was, after all, an indoor tree. Too bad she had no idea that there is no such thing. All trees are outdoor trees.

Yes, some bonsai need to come inside for the winter because it’s just too darned cold for them, I live in Toronto and I can’t think of a single bonsai that could be left sitting on the deck for the winter with a hope in heck of finding it alive in the spring. That includes the bonsai version of trees that can still thrive in colder climates than here. The only question is just how much cold can any tree take.

If you’re looking at a bonsai tree for sale online and it is listed as an indoor tree, chances are that it simply is not cold tolerant. If you’re lucky, additional information might be forthcoming because while many trees are not frost tolerant, there are some that will throw off their mortal coils when it’s a heck of a lot warmer than 32 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re living in a cold climate, it means that you have to bring a tree that can’t take the cold, inside for the winter months. It will keep them alive but doesn’t mean they like it.

Now you have the same problems with outdoor trees too. And they can be even more perplexing. A Siberian Crabapple will survive in Zone 2- which makes Toronto’s zone 6B look positively balmy, but left to sit on the deck over the winter it would die. The roots you see have no protection sitting in those little pots. But the trees NEED a cooler winter or they won’t get the rest.

But back to the warm weather trees. Do them a favor this year and let them spend as much of the summer outdoors as will be reasonably possible. you will need to do a little more work. You’ll absolutely need to take careful steps to manage the twice-a-year transition from one environment to another and you’ll need o be sure that out of sight is not out of mind.

In my opinion, no tree suffers more than the Juniper - the most popular of all the bonsai in North America and the one I vote most likely to die - unnoticed - on your coffee table. By all means display it in a place of honor on special occasions, but give it as much time outside as you can manage and introduce something like a seasonal variation to promote more health.

The biggest problem with thinking of your tree as an indoor bonsai is that it implies that dozens of different trees - from a tropical Ficus to a semi-desert loving mini jade and anything in between all like the same conditions. And that just isn’t so. Treat your tropical divas like divas and they’ll thrive. Treat your desert dwellers like the scrappy little survivors that they are. Let them bathe in real sun (once you acclimate them), but don’t forget to bring them back inside before it gets too cold.

Tags: Bonsai Trees

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